Keen on increasing its presence in South Florida, Colliers International Group Inc. has acquired Pointe Group Advisors, a commercial real estate services firm based in Coconut Grove.

Craig Robinson, president, Colliers International USA

“As with all of our markets, Colliers is seeking to build out our services lines to best serve clients in each region–which, in the case of South Florida, means greater project management and capital markets capabilities. These added capabilities align with the strengths we already have in leasing, management and tenant rep,” Craig Robinson, president of Colliers International | USA, told Commercial Property Executive. Pointe Group fits the bill.

Established in 2003, Pointe Group brings to the table a staff of more than 70 professionals with expertise in property and project management sales, as well as brokerage in both sales and leasing–but that’s not all. The firm comes with a 7 million-square-foot portfolio of managed and leased office, industrial and retail space. Pointe Group’s founder, Peter Gardner, joins Colliers as head of the company’s South Florida property management operations.

Yes, there’s something about South Florida; Colliers has its reasons for pursuing a growth strategy in the area. As noted in the firm’s statement announcing the acquisition, South Florida is thriving, due in no small part to its position as a vital point of access to Latin America and a gateway to the rest of the world. It’s all in the numbers.

The positive absorption recorded in Palm Beach, Miami-Dade and Broward counties in the second quarter–a total of more than 900,000 square feet in the office sector and 500,000 square feet in retail–is on track to continue through the end of 2015, according to a second-quarter Colliers report.

And the industrial sector, with an enviably low vacancy rate of 6.2 percent, holds even greater promise for Colliers in light of the Panama Canal expansion. “The Panama Canal provides us an opportunity to further expand our industrial capabilities in the region,” Robinson said. “We currently stand in the top 3 across most major industrial markets in the U.S., and we see Miami becoming an even more important market for our industrial expansion–building upon the team and leadership we already have in place.”

There’s much more to come from Colliers in the Sunshine State. The firm now has 10 offices in Florida and, as Robinson added, it expects an acceleration of intra-Florida business over the next 12 to 18 months. Expansion remains on the agenda. “We continue to evaluate M&A opportunities on a case by case basis, but are also focused on targeted recruiting efforts to build on specific capabilities. We’ve already recruited 29 producers since last year,” Robinson added.